Mental Illnesses

Supporting the church's caring response

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​According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. experiences mental illness in a given year. About 1 in 25 experiences mental illness to a degree that substantially interferes with or limits one or more major life activities. They include anxiety, mood, and personality disorders, bipolar illness, and schizophrenia, among others. Though these illnesses are typically recognized by behavior and internal feelings, it is not always recognized that they result from physical illnesses of the brain.

The high prevalence of mental illnesses in the population means all or nearly all congregations will include people living with a mental illness. If you are not aware of anyone in your congregation who lives with a mental illness, you might consider two questions:

What might your congregation be doing that makes it hard for people with a mental illness to participate?

How might your congregation make it hard for people living with a mental illness to be open about their struggles?

Because the topic of mental illness is vast, in ADN's resources, we focus our limited resources on supporting the church's caring response to mental illness. We invite you to explore them in the links on this page.

Opening doors

​The season of Advent is about the hope of waiting. When you're the caregiver to a child with a disability, your life is all about waiting. Waiting for the next doctor's appointment, physical therapy session, counseling session . . .

Approximately one in five persons sitting in church Sunday morning struggle with mental health problems. No one should have to whisper about their lives in the church. Plan a Mental Health Sunday. ADN can help.